New Podcast: Measuring Physical Activity

Physical
activity and physical fitness are closely linked—that is, a measure of an
individual's habitual level of physical activity including exercise is closely
correlated to his or her level of physical fitness. A new APTA podcast focuses on screening for inactivity.
The podcast distinguishes between physical activity and physical fitness, explains the use of physical activity to screen for issues of impaired physical
fitness, and provides information on what to do with the results of
the screen. It also gives examples illustrating various types of patients and
the role that physical activity plays in their overall health.

This new podcast is part of a web presence
titled "Vital Signs and Other Patient Screenings" and is included in
a series of podcasts titled "Extracting Hidden Gems from Simple Clinical
Measures." This podcast combined
with part 1 and part 2 of the podcast series
"Inactivity: An Epidemic," available at www.apta.org/PreventionWellness, explains why information about physical activity
is valuable, how to gather the data, and what to do with the data based on the
different results obtained.